extended jati. “It was unbelievable that Sindhu had energy to fin- ish the finale act. The technical implementation on plate in Tarana was flawlessly executed by Sindhu,” Manda said. Such a feat is only possible with utmost dedicated practice, extensive training in combination with self dis- cipline. To such discipline, I bow today to the artist’s spirit that I have seen in Sindhu. It gave me immense pleasure to watch her perform,” Manda said. Reflections on the Show Sindhu intentionally brought her distinct brand of expressions to these dances. She took the audience into her personal journey of storytelling, hoping to leave everyone artistically replenished. But she had to learn to submit to her gurus, to give their judgment her undying trust. “I once asked Guruji, ‘Do you think I can do this?’” Sindhu said. “He told me ‘you don’t have a choice. YOU MUST.’ For him, there was no such thing as ‘can’t,’ just ‘do.’” Her ideas of kuchipudi itself expanded. “When Guruji told me about Saanson Ki Mala, I could- n’t understand the structure of the song,” said the 21- year-old. “It was so uncommon for a kuchipudi inter- pretation, but my guru thought otherwise.” Born and brought up in the USA, it was difficult for the young performer to truly understand and appreciate the languages involved in kuchipudi. “I had to ask the meaning of certain Urdu and Telugu words. But, when Guruji explained them to me, I saw an entirely new mean- ing to his choreography. Once I overcame my fear and inse- curity, I started loving the experience of immersing com- pletely in dance, interacting with my gurus in a daily basis and learning directly from them. My God, I treasure every moment of those days. When we were putting together the music and choreography for the Sita item, it was an honor and pleasure sitting in the discussions of my gurus, dis- cussing, learning, observing. I saw art being made.” For many, the camaraderie and love between the gurus and sishya, Sindhu was extremely heart-warming to watch. “It’s so rare and touching to see Kaushalya Reddy, her guru, addressing her disciple as “Sindhu baby” so lovingly on stage and Sindhu communicating with her guru Padmabhushan Raja Reddy as if he were her family. During her speech, as the guru watched her affestionately, right by her side, Sindhu’s eyes would fill with tears as she spoke about him. And I saw her guru Radha Reddy got up and hugged Sindhu tightly after the performance. Such warmth and love is so rare to watch in this commercialized world,” said Satya Irrinki, Sindhu’s aunt, who came all the way from Detroit to attend Sindhu’s debut. For Sindhu, the opinions of those who were instrumen- tal to her growth as a dancer were also very important. Her mother and her Gurus worked tirelessly to ensure the suc- cess of her show, spending sleepless nights coordinating the
Sindhu Ravuri as Sathyabhama and Padmabhushan Raja Reddy as Madhavi captured the hearts of the audience
“Guruji has choreographed this bhajan to depict spiri- tual love, an everlasting connection between two souls. This kind of love has no language, no religion -- it’s the same whether it is God or the Beloved. Just thinking about it makes me cry,” said Sindhu. Then came Sita’s Ramayana, exclusively choreo- graphed for Sindhu by Dr. Raja Reddy. This dance is based on the book by Samhita Arni, which looks at Ramayana from Sita’s perspective. This piece interweaves English nar- rative with pure jatis , intended to connect with the English speaking audience. It relays the pain, anguish and struggle of Sita’s journey once exiled by her own husband for rumors of being intimate with Raavana. While Satyabhama and Sita are both female characters (unlike Shiva), their per- sonas and journeys are polar opposites, providing Sindhu the opportunity to delve into diverse, complex female char- acters. “The depiction of Sita by Sindhu left me spellbound,” said Ranjani Manda, director and founder of Aerodance in Fremont. “I heard Ramayana so many times, but I cried watching her expressions. I felt I was watching real Sita.” Finally, is Tarana, a Hindustani composition by sitar mae- stro Bharat Ratna Pandit Ravi Shankar. Drs. Raja and Radha Reddy choreographed this item in kuchipudi classical dance style, and it has grown to be one of their most famous pieces. In this, the dancer showcases rhythmic footwork patterns by dancing on the rim of a brass plate for an
18 www.indiaparentmagazine.org
October 2019
Made with FlippingBook Learn more on our blog